President János Áder has appointed Mihály Patai as deputy governor of the National Bank of Hungary (NBH).
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán recommend Patai for the position in March to replace National Bank of Hungary deputy governor Ferenc Gerhardt. Gerhardt’s six-year term ends on April 21st.
According to MTI, parliament’s economic committee approved the prime minister’s nomination of Patai at the end of March.
At his hearing before the committee, Patai said the central bank’s 0.9 percent base rate could be maintained in the coming period. Hungary’s economic growth is sustainable in the coming 2-3 years, in spite of a slowdown in the European Union and the global economy.
Patai is the chairman of the Hungarian Banking Association and was chairman and chief executive of UniCredit Bank Hungary, one of Hungary’s biggest commercial lenders.